Using the Past to Challenge the Present and Imagine the Future of Urban Public Spaces.

The 2022 Conference.


June 16, 17 and 18.

Convenors | Danielle van den Heuvel, Gamze Saygi (UvA, History, ACUH)  Luca Bertolini (UvA, Urban Planning, CUS) & James Symonds (UvA, Archaeology, AHM) .  

 

The conference originated from the desire of four UvA scholars who work on issues of urban streets as social spaces, to cross the disciplinary boundaries and connect to stakeholders in the city. It lasted three days. The first two days focussed on academic exchanges, and the third day on exchanges between academia and society. This was be a traditional academic conference. We mixed more standard presentations of academic research with more open sessions in which academics and stakeholders discuss current and future challenges related to access to and control over the city street. Next to in-house sessions included outside activities in urban public space. A manifesto on the future challenges and opportunities of city streets as urban common was co-created during the conference and disseminated through (social) media and other channels thereafter. Dedicated sessions explored joint initiatives. These and other results are shared on this online platform, with the aim of spurring follow-ups. 

2022 Conference

  • [1] The Streets As Social Space

    The first day of the conference focused on questions such as: Who makes the street? Who uses the street and what is the street used for? These are the main questions of the first theme: The Street as Social Space. With these questions we aim to understand what people value in a street, what is needed to make a good street or in other words, what makes the street. Furthermore, different perspectives can come forward: whether the street is a space for mobility or a social space.

  • [2] Threats And Opportunities

    The theme of day two was divided into two separate themes: one focuses on how people attack the richness of the street and the other focuses on how processes (design and redesign, modernization and planning for example) attack the richness of the street. For both of the themes the past is incorporated to see changes or continuities. It is however important not only to focus on threats but also on opportunities. People and processes can be opportunities for the richness of the street too. Lastly, it is important to indicate for whom and why certain people or processes are threats or opportunities to the richness of the street.

  • [3] Reclaiming the Streets

    The third day focused on exchanges between academia and practice. The day was designed around core questions such as: What do we want to reclaim from the street? Who do we reclaim the street for? Who is responsible for claiming the street and what can they do? Day three also consisted of a Future Panel, Conversations and a workshop-like structure inspired by ‘Living the Not-Yet'. We further discussed the role of academia and the role of practice.